


Lovely

by MalevolentReverie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Age Difference, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Beta Kylo Ren, F/M, Fetish, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Older Man/Younger Woman, Omega Rey, Orderly Kylo Ren, Possessive Behavior, Power Imbalance, Rey is an atypical Omega, Runaway Rey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:35:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25557439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalevolentReverie/pseuds/MalevolentReverie
Summary: Ben works as an orderly at an Omega shelter. One night he meets Rey, a teenager who made a disastrous attempt to escape her Omega designation with experimental drugs. He decides that she needs him.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 160
Kudos: 511





	1. Chapter 1

“Ben, can you clean room eighteen, please?”

 _The Price Is Right_ plays softly on the old television across the room, chimes and bells mingling with the squeak of the break room door. Ben peels his eyes away from the screen to look up at his boss, Amilyn, who raises her eyebrows. What? He’s done with morning rounds. Nothing wrong with watching some TV while he waits.

“Uh… yeah. Yeah.” He nods, smiling, passing a hand through his hair. “I’ll get right on it.”

“Great. We have a couple men coming today—one is afraid of closets so if you don’t mind leaving the door open in room…” She frowns and checks her clipboard. “Twelve. Closed doors make him anxious.”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

Amilyn thanks him and leaves. The door groans and slams shut, and Ben sighs, leaning his head on the back of the worn gray couch. Back to work.

He gets up, pushing out the old coffee table with his foot first, and stretches. Amilyn is the new director of the Omega shelter and she got everyone new pastel green uniforms because ‘green is a soothing color.’ It does feel a little less like a sanitarium with the splashes of color she’s been adding: new paint on the walls, new uniforms, renovations to the cafeteria.

But he’s seen a lot of directors come and go. Amilyn won’t be around forever, and it’ll all go back to shit.

Ben ambles down the dimly lit hall to the custodial closet at the end. There are two others on the far end of the complex but—for obvious reasons—he usually works in this section where they keep the male Omegas. Sometimes he’ll cover a shift in the units with pregnant Omegas or ones under eighteen, though.

Those are kept under lock and key. Much harder to get into without a good reason.

He grabs his cart and loads it with clean linens and a door stop to keep the closet door open. Got to cover Kaydel’s shift in the pregnancy ward last month. Saw a few Omegas sitting in the common area rubbing their swollen bellies, slumped over in their chairs, eyes glassy and vacant.

Alphas aren’t supposed to leave pregnant Omegas but they do. Ben has always fantasized about taking one home with him and taking care of her.

He wheels down the hallway to the first room, scrolling through Twitter along the way. He waves to a nurse helping an Omega shuffle down the hall and the guy quickly looks down, cowering a little. Weird. Male Omegas are just weird.

The women though—definitely not weird. Not one bit. They’re just what a woman should be.

Ben knocks on the door just to be sure it’s empty before he starts cleaning. Every room comes with a bed, closet, nightstand, and dresser. It’s plain and most of the furniture is cracked or faded or has stuff carved into it. State government isn’t very generous.

He opens the window to let in the fresh air and takes down the curtains to put up a clean set. He doesn’t _have_ to but it gets dusty when they’re not cleaned and he doesn’t want anyone to be uncomfortable. If it were him in here, he’d appreciate clean curtains.

It takes him a little over an hour to get everything cleaned, the bed made, and the floor vacuumed. He dumps some extra linens in the closet for nesting and moves on to the next room, pleased with his work.

“Hey—Ben?”

He glances up as he wheels out into the hallway and sees his coworker from another unit, Jessika. She’s pretty. Works with the underage group.

“Hey.” He shuts the door. “What’s up?”

“Um…” Jessika takes a deep breath, tugging her long black hair over her shoulder. “I need a favor.”

Ben’s heart skips a beat. He pretends to be indifferent and just raises his eyebrows.

“Can you cover my shift Saturday?” she asks in a rush. “Poe was supposed to take Shara but I guess he has something to do for work this weekend so—I can’t find anyone else to watch her.”

Jess is an Omega, mated to an Alpha named Poe. He’s an Alpha through-and-through and recently decided to pick up another Omega named Finn. Jess did not appreciate it. They’re getting a divorce and disintegrating their bond, which is just as painful as it sounds. Or so he’s heard.

Ben laughs a little, leaning on his silver cart. “I mean, I’m not the best babysitter, but…”

“Oh, no, I was just hoping you could cover my shift. Amilyn said it’s okay with her.”

“In the under eighteen unit?”

“Yeah. She said it’s fine since Kaydel is working, too.”

Hasn’t been there in a couple months. Obviously. Little kids tend to not trust giant strange men.

Ben shrugs, nodding. “Sure, if it’s okay with Amilyn. What time?”

Jess squeals and throws her arm around his waist. Not really a huge favor—overtime rate is great and he’s been thinking of buying a new computer—but he awkwardly pats her shoulder and enjoys the hug. It’s nice touching an Omega, even if Poe would fucking deck him if he saw.

“Great!” She beams, dancing back a couple steps. “I start at nine and work until seven in the morning.”

“Overtime _and_ shift diff? Not bad, Pava.”

“Weekend differential, too. You’re making out like a bandit, Ben.” She waves flippantly. “All the kids sleep fine, anyway. Sometimes they wake up and want water or someone to sit with them but that’s all.”

He nods and waves when she skips off. Should be nice to work with Kaydel. Maybe it’ll give him an excuse to visit the pregnancy unit and linger a little in the common area. Sometimes he’ll take sheets or pillow cases or whatever home with him but he always gives them something in return. Candy, usually. They’re not supposed to have chocolate so he’ll sneak some in.

Ben pushes his cart down the hall to the next room, thoughts wandering. It’s not like he hurts them. They like getting the chocolate and don’t really care if he takes their old sheets to fuck around with at home. Only does it every once in a while when he gets into one of the other units with women.

He pauses at the door. The wheels squeak, and Ben gazes into the distance. One time he heard a girl in the pediatric ward panting and whining in her room, but he tries not to think about it when he’s jerking off. Kinda hot, though. Must be nice to be an Alpha—have a sweet, gentle Omega that obeys everything you say without a second thought.

Ben clears his throat and straightens up, trying not to look guilty when he smiles at a passing nurse. No big deal. It’s not like he’s hurting any of them.

—•—

Work ends at four, and Ben is home by four thirty making dinner. Spaghetti.

He lives on the top floor of an old building that used to be a paper mill a hundred years ago. The ceiling is exposed and the floors are old polished wood but it’s not as nice as it sounds. Cold as fuck during the winter, somehow cold during the summer.

 _The Price Is Right_ runs quietly in the living room and he pauses every so often to watch. It’s good background noise for when the apartment gets too quiet. And the girls are hot.

Ben shifts, pawing absentmindedly at his crotch. Poe sent him some new stuff today—Omega porn can be hard to find but Poe knows a guy who knows a guy. It’s real girls, too; no coked-out actresses. Usually just Alphas fucking their Omegas at home.

It’s better that way. Makes it easier to imagine it’s him fucking the girl, not some jacked up Alpha with a harem. He’d be happy with one.

Plus, Poe says they’re high maintenance. He’s kinda high-ranking in the military and still has a hard time keeping up with whatever Jess or Finn wants. Just one Omega will probably keep Ben busy enough.

He sits and eats dinner at the small table his mom bought him for Christmas two years ago. It’s quiet. His chewing seems loud and he turns up the television to drown it out. Never had a girl living here. Never really dated. Picked up the occasional pity fuck from a girl in a bar but he’s holding out.

Ben’s phone vibrates. He’s still staring at the TV as he picks it up and swipes up to unlock it.

> **Today** 5:37 PM
> 
> Hey dick. Check your email.
> 
> dude stop asking me for porn reviews
> 
> I’m just making sure you got it 🙄

Poe, checking to see if Ben got the porn. He rolls his eyes and opens his second email—yup, it’s there, three files. Sweet.

> got it 👍🏻
> 
> Cool.
> 
> you want a trajectory report  
>  **Read** 5:42 PM
> 
> Can’t think of anything I want less than thinking about your sperm, Solo. $100 for next week.  
> Oh and thanks for taking Jess’s shift. Taking Finn on a weekend trip, so keep your mouth shut.
> 
> dad of the year

Ben pockets his phone and cleans up dinner. Poe is a douchebag. He’s always been a douchebag.

His nightly ritual sets in after: he turns off the television, takes a shower, washes his hands, then grabs a clean towel to clean up with. He checks his assortment of cock sleeves in the cabinet and decides on a new one that should be extra tight. Most of his money goes into getting off.

Ben shuffles down the hall to his bedroom and shuts the door. He turns on a fan next to the window and forgoes his laptop, opting just to use the phone tonight. He’s still on edge from this afternoon thinking about the whimpering girl and the pregnant Omegas so it’s not gonna take long.

He lies down, dragging a sheet from last week up on his bare mattress. Omegas have a kinda faint smell to them that he can’t quite place but the sheet still smells like it from the girl who had her heat.

Too bad—they just give them drugs to stop it. Ben takes a deep breath of it, bunching it up beside him before he reaches down to unbuckle his belt. He’s read all kinds of studies about the drugs and how bad they are. Poor things. It’s not good for them.

He skips checking Reddit for porn and goes straight to the videos from Poe. His cock is already hard and he grabs some lotion from the nightstand to ease some of the friction. Ben strokes absentmindedly while they video loads, opening up to an Omega on her back already in the middle of getting fucked.

Her eyes are half-lidded and her lips parted and she bounces a little on every thrust. She whimpers, face screwing up; not really like she’s in pain, but overwhelmed. It’s hot. Familiar, but hot.

 _“Alph-Alpha,”_ she whines. Her tits bounce and Ben slowly strokes his length. _“Please… please…”_

 _“Please_ what _, Omega?”_

Ugh. Does he have to fucking talk? Ben switches to the second video and finds a weird POV of anal, which seems pointless with an Omega, but the third one doesn’t have any bullshit from the Alpha.

It focuses on the Omega’s face, too—has her bent over, ass in the air, expression all dazed. Ben tightens his grip and pumps his cock faster, and when the Omega whimpers, he gently shushes her.


	2. Chapter 2

Ben can’t help feeling a little excited when he gets ready for work Saturday night.

It’s fucked up, sure—he’s working with a bunch of underage Omega girls and that shouldn’t give him any emotion resembling excitement. He buckles his belt and keeps himself distracted with an episode of _Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?_ because that way he can pretend nothing weird is going on.

Not weird. He just likes his job.

It’s humid when he leaves around eight thirty and squeezes into his truck. Jess texts him again to say thanks and sends a picture of her with her kid—Shara—all wide gummy smiles. Cute. Maybe he’ll have one someday.

He rolls up to the facility just before nine. Night is falling and he catches Amilyn on her way out. She just waves, distracted by a phone call, and doubles back to give Ben the key to the minor unit. He thanks her as casually as he can, even though his heart pounds. It’s not _exciting_ —she just handed him keys. Maybe it’s the power trip he likes.

Security lets him through and he catches up with the second shift heading out to get caught up on stuff. Paige. She’s cool. Has a little Omega sister. 

“So, nothing big to do,” Paige says, shrugging. She passes a hand through her thick black hair and offers Ben a chart. “Six girls right now, all pretty quiet and compliant. The only outlier is Rey but she’s just been sleeping off that Theta shit.”

Ben pauses. “She took Theta?”

“…Yeah? Like the third case this month in the city.” Paige raises her eyebrows and pats his bicep. “Keep up with the news, Solo.”

“Where did she get it?” he asks. “Why did she take it?”

“Whoever knows _that_ should probably tell the cops.”

Paige leaves him alone at the nurse’s station, and quiet falls across the facility.

Ben doesn’t move for a minute. He stares at the chart with a list of names, gaze roaming down to the one at the bottom. Rey Niima. She’s fifteen—Omegas usually start cycling at twelve or thirteen.

His lower eyelid twitches. Why would she do that to herself? She could’ve died. There could be all kinds of permanent damage to her pheromones and slick and heat cycles. Why would she…? What’s the point? Why would an Omega willingly disfigure themselves?

He closes his chart and walks down the hall to the minor unit. A light chime goes off when he unlocks the door and walks in, and Ben double checks the lock before he turns around. It’s nice in here: pink walls with a light blue stripe, new laminate light flooring, and framed pictures of trees and mountains and whatever else on the walls.

Quiet though. Real quiet.

First he checks their common room to make sure no one is out of bed. It’s empty, but really nice: toys in the corner, two flat screens, a big table where Paige says they put out breakfast in the morning. There are big colorful beanbag chairs and bookshelves filled with stuff, including some about Omega puberty, and there’s a big fuzzy pink carpet, too.

Ben closes the door behind him and locks it, then checks the list from Paige. Hannah, Georgiana, Lena, Kayci, Emily, and Rey. Two of them are sixteen, one is fifteen, one is twelve, and the last two are thirteen. Young kids, already alone.

Lena has a mate who apparently keeps trying to break in to see her. She’s thirteen and he’s forty and the state is trying to have the bond disintegrated, which makes complete sense. Sick. The other five are orphans or runaways and that includes Rey, who only came to the facility two days ago.

Ben grimaces as he flips the chart shut and leaves it at the nurse’s station. Fucked up.

He walks by each room, lightly testing the handles to make sure they’re locked and peering through the glass windows. Most of the girls are hidden in pillow forts, and he’s definitely not barging into their rooms without a really good reason. He knocks on the doors and sees movement a couple times. Once he sees two blue eyes blinking at him through the darkness.

They have buzzers if they need him for a bathroom break or anything else. He double checks his receiver in his palm and hooks it on his belt loop, sort of jittery. They’ll be nervous. They probably don’t like or trust men.

He waits at the nurse’s station and watches random _Call of Duty_ playthroughs. It’s in the back of his mind that he can walk into any one of the rooms and do whatever he wants, and he halfheartedly shoos the thoughts away. No problem with just fantasizing about it. The older ones. Thirteen is too young but sixteen isn’t bad. Omegas usually mate young.

Mate young—mate for life. Ben rocks in his chair, vacantly watching his phone. Must be nice to be able to mate for life.

His receiver vibrates at that moment and he practically falls over in his haste to check it. Room ten—that’s one of the little ones; Lena.

Ben makes his way to her room and unlocks the door. She’s already sitting up in bed rubbing her eyes and doesn’t seem perturbed by his presence like he thought she’d be. She’s wearing baggy pajamas, and after a second he realizes they look like they belong to an adult man.

She’s small and blonde and has a round face. She puts on green slippers as she gets out of bed and he sees a big red bite on the side of her neck.

“Bathroom,” she yawns.

“Uh… sure. Sure.” He pushes open the door with his back. “I’m Ben.”

Lena nods as she passes. She has dark circles and her eyes are red, like she’s been crying a lot. It must be painful being separated from her mate.

“Paige told us,” she replies.

Ben follows her to the bathroom and waits outside. It takes five minutes before she’s done, eyes even redder, cheeks streaked with dried smeared tears. She doesn’t say anything on the walk back and mumbles a thank you before he shuts the door.

He locks it. Her soft crying picks up and makes his chest tighten. Jesus.

Ben returns to his post, unsettled. This is just depressing.

—•—

No one else gets up to use the bathroom that night and Ben makes sure breakfast is ready for their eight AM wake up. He’ll be gone.

It’s six when he’s finishing up setting out the muffins and fruit from the fridge behind the nurse’s station. Looks good, he thinks. They get nice breakfasts here: fresh fruit, yogurt, muffins, cereal. Most of the other girls get weird hospital food, especially when they’re pregnant.

His pager goes off for room six—Rey.

He’s been thinking about her most of the night. Worrying about her. What if she hurts herself? What if she winds up like Lena? She’s already hurting and doing dangerous shit.

Ben pauses outside her door, fishing through his keys. He sees a lot of Omegas slip through the cracks, mistreated or pushed aside by Alphas and forgotten. It’s not right. What if some fucked up Alpha takes advantage of her? Will she wind up pregnant and slumped over in a wheelchair?

He unlocks it and peers inside.

Part of him wishes he was wrong—he half hoped to find her raring to go, aggressive and feral and in need of taming. Instead her finds her curled up in a ball on the bare floor, very naked, shivering very violently. Her tan skin is shiny with sweat.

“Oh—god.” Ben closes the door, rushing over. “Hey. Hey are you—?”

He kneels and she lunges, hissing low and breathy like a viper. Her hazel eyes are glassy and vacant but the anger is etched into her round face, brown hair plastered to her forehead. She holds her snarl for a few seconds before she collapses again, hiss tapering off into a high-pitched whine. It in turn becomes a breathless sob.

Jesus _Christ._ Paige’s notes mention the detox from Theta is awful but it still seems like he should call a doctor. Ben pulls a sheet off the bed to drape over Rey and she howls and thrashes and kicks it off.

“It’s okay—hey, hey; it’s okay.” Shouldn’t touch any of them. Really shouldn’t touch a naked minor. His hands hover a couple inches above her. “What do you need? How can I help you?”

This is a little different than his usual gig cleaning up after male Omegas. There should be a nurse here if this poor kid is detoxing.

Rey’s face screws up and her lower lip quivers. She bursts into tears, heaving sobs as she curls into a ball facing away from Ben. She’s all sweaty and he can feel the heat radiating off her. Maybe a shower would help. He could carry her to the bathroom.

He hesitates. Maybe her skin is super sensitive on top of being hot and that’s why she’s lying on the floor. That’s usually a heat thing but there isn’t any slick, so that can’t be why she’s so upset.

Could be an understimulation thing. Sometimes they get hysterical when they aren’t swaddled and held enough, kind of like babies. That could help. Or it could make her scream bloody murder, and someone could find him forcing a hug on a naked teenager. Then he’ll go to federal prison.

The next best thing is to get her into the closet. She’ll feel a little safer there.

“Rey?” He clears his throat. “Want me to help you into the closet? It’s nice and quiet. Soundproofed.” She shakes her head, still sobbing. He gets a painful pang in his chest. “I know it’s weird but it’s better than being out here. I’ll even bring you breakfast early.”

Her crying tapers off. She sniffles, skinny body still trembling, and casts him a shy glance over her shoulder. Her hazel eyes are watery and red and he really just wants to hug her instead.

“Breakfast in bed sounds nice, doesn’t it?” he says. She stares but it’s better than crying. “I’ll bring you whatever you want—just go try to relax, okay?”

Rey searches his face for another couple seconds. She pulls the sheet around her, sniffling and grimacing, and manages to get to her wobbly feet.

She pauses at the closet door, casting Ben another glance, and he scrambles to get her breakfast.

He isn’t sure what she wants so he brings a bit of everything: strawberries, bananas, chocolate chip and blueberry muffins, vanilla and strawberry yogurt, plus three tiny apple juice boxes. It’s cool. It’s really cool; really exciting having an Omega expecting him.

She’s waiting by the door when he comes back, and she trips over her sheet in her haste to get in the closet. It’s empty except for a few pillows, which is weird for an Omega.

Rey isn’t shy about eating. She tears into her food like a wild animal, not the soft sweet Omega Ben is expecting. But it’s nice anyway. He leans on the wall to watch her, mesmerized. It’s nice that she has an appetite—nice that she trusted him.

“Ben?”

He turns to find Jessika in the doorway. She’s putting her hair back as she walks in, smiling, and pauses next to him to watch Rey eat. He didn’t get much time to consider her features and it’s hard to assess when she’s voraciously shoving food down her throat. She’s pretty, like most Omegas. Kind of tomboyish.

“Oh good,” Jess says. “Her appetite has been so bad. Glad she’s actually eating.” She raises her eyebrows. “It’s seven so you can head home. Thanks again for covering me.”

Ben feigns a smile. “Yeah, no problem. Let me know if you need help again.”

Jess smiles and nods while Rey chews loudly in the background.

Ben sits in his car for a bit after he heads out. He stares straight ahead through the windshield, still vacant when he starts the car.

Rey Niima. She’s a nice kid.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little lite feederism?

Rey is firmly lodged in Ben’s thoughts when he gets home. She’s there when he sleeps off his overnight, and pops back in while he brushes his teeth and takes a shower. Nice girl. Pretty.

There isn’t much to do on a Sunday after five, so Ben spends most of the afternoon watching game shows. He bounces his knee and drums his fingers on his thigh and tries not to dwell on what Rey looked like naked. She was nice. Shame she took Theta. She’s lucky she’s not dead.

Kind of a waste when they do that to themselves. After she’s done detoxing she might never have a heat cycle again; might lose her Omega traits, like nesting and chirping, and the sweet disposition they all have. She’s already turning feral. Could set it and be permanent. Is that what she wants?

Ben sets his jaw, exhaling hard through his nose while he watches _Jeopardy_. Can’t get mad at her—she’s just a kid. She was probably scared when she took the Theta, worried she’d never have anyone to take care of her. But _he_ would. Why couldn’t he have found her first?

He keeps drumming his fingers with his jaw clenched. Anxiety seeps into his chest.

No one will take care of her properly. He knows how: he’s done tons of research and read dozens of books about Omegas. Got her to eat breakfast when no one else did, right? And he got her settled in a nest where she should be instead of dumping her in a bed like a fucking Beta.

Nervous chills shiver up Ben’s spine. He should be taking care of her—he’s the most qualified. Probably knows more than Amilyn or anyone else there.

But she’s such a nice girl. Really. He rubs his nape, smiling faintly with his eyes still riveted on the television. Kinda a funny little thing. She needs someone to step up and take care of her, and she won’t get that at the compound.

Ben turns in early, too nauseous and agitated to bother with jerking off. He gets up and paces a handful of times, muttering and digging his nails into his palm to calm himself down. It’s such a fucking waste. _He_ can take care of her. He should.

Eventually he dozes off on the couch, Rey still lodged in his brain.

—•—

Ben goes to work a bit early Monday morning. His heart pounds even though he won’t be allowed to see Rey—he’s back in his regular unit with men, and they don’t just let people go for visits to the other units. Sucks, but he’ll look suspicious if he starts asking if he can see her again.

It’s pretty busy when he gets to the facility, and he cleans a couple rooms before even glimpsing Jessika. No big deal, he thinks, fluffing a pillow as he sets it back on a bed. She’s just busy.

“Hey Ben?”

He looks up from gazing blankly at the empty bed he’s making. Amilyn is at the door, leaning in with her thin fingers on the frame. She drums.

“Jessika told me you convinced Rey Niima to eat something Sunday morning?”

“Uh…” Ben shrugs, nodding.

“We haven’t been able to get her to eat since then—it hasn’t been long but she’s a very thin girl so I’d like to see if we can. Do you mind?”

He tries to pretend he doesn’t care as he follows Amilyn to the unit. His chest is tight with nervous excitement and he digs his fingers into his palms, nodding when he sees other coworkers in the hallway. Do they know he’s excited?

Amilyn stops outside Rey’s door and offers Ben the key. He squeezes it in his fist.

“We’ve given her one of those Alpha pheromone diffusers,” Amilyn says. “Sometimes it can combat the Theta and return the Omegas to normal. It tends to make them nauseous so I’m hoping whatever you did to convince her to eat yesterday can be done again.”

Ben nods. He expects Amilyn will follow him in but she gets paged in the next second and waves and leaves. That’s it. He’s going to be left alone with Rey. He hesitates, thumbing the key—then he pushes it in the lock with a shaky hand and turns the handle.

Her bed is empty. Up on the wall Ben sees a black box with a big red A on it; one of the diffusers they use sometimes for Omegas coming off Theta or in the middle of heat with no Alpha. Omegas are valuable, so people will go to great lengths to keep them from successfully using Theta.

He closes the door and leans on it. While he’s standing there, Rey peeks partway out of the closet.

She disappears back inside in a split second. Ben doesn’t move from the door—doesn’t want to spook her too much.

“Hi, Rey,” he croaks. Shit. He clears his throat. “Do you remember me?”

It’s quiet for a long minute. He waits, watching the edge of the closet he can see from the door.

She chirps.

Hearing them do it in porn or YouTube videos is one thing, but this is the first time he’s ever heard it in person. It’s beautiful. It’s really nice. Her crying yesterday was hard to stomach so it’s really nice that she’s chirping.

Ben slowly walks around the edge of the closet. Rey recoils inside when she glimpses him, and he carefully takes a seat on the floor a couple feet from the entrance. It’s chock-full of blankets and pillows now. Good. Maybe the Alpha pheromone is working.

He drapes his hands in his lap, rubbing his thumbs to his index fingers. Quiet follows.

“Can I get you something?” he asks. “Whatever you want. We have all kinds of stuff.”

Rey doesn’t answer. She’s hidden in her nest, and Ben thinks of all the porn he’s seen where the Alpha intrudes without a second thought. Seems rude, but Alphas aren’t really known for their tact.

Then he hears sobs.

Ben leans forward on his hands and knees and crawls to the edge of the nest. He peeks his head in and sees Rey curled in the far corner, clutching the sides of her head and rocking back and forth. She cries softly, shaking her head.

“Are you…” Ben swallows, staring. Really wants to climb all the way in and hug her. Can’t. “What’s wrong? What can I do?”

“Make it stop—make it stop.”

Her voice is raspy, barely a whisper. Her eyes are squeezed shut like she’s in pain and she rolls her lips. She cries harder.

“What?” Ben looks around. “What’s wrong?”

“The box. Make it stop.” Rey dips her head to her knees and gives a muffled scream. “Make it _stop_!”

She must mean the pheromone box. Ben glances over his shoulder at it and back at Rey. They’re not supposed to stop the treatment.

“It’s supposed to help—”

“I don’t wanna be an Omega!” Rey interrupts, fully bawling. “I don’t wanna be—I don’t want it!”

He tries shushing her. This isn’t going well _at all_. He’s going to make her have a meltdown instead of getting her to eat something.

Not supposed to pull out the pheromone packs. They’re expensive, and the facility is legally obligated to treat Omegas with them. But it’s from some random Alpha and Ben fucking hates Alphas, and he hates knowing that random Alpha is influencing _his_ Omega. It’s gross.

He gets up and crosses the room to the box. He scratches his jaw and searches his keys, then gets up on Rey’s bed to unlock the box. His back is angled just enough to hide what he’s doing from the camera.

Ben pulls out the clear vial, surreptitiously slipping it in his sleeve. He locks the box once more before he gets down.

Rey is peering out of the closet. She sniffles, wiping her eyes. Her pajamas are swimming on her and the left shoulder is falling down a couple inches. She’s thin. She has a pretty round face and freckles—kinda young-looking for a fifteen year old.

“I’m going to throw this out,” Ben says. He can hardly believe he took it out in the first place. “Can I get you some lunch?”

She sniffles and nods. Great.

He heads down the hall to the bathroom. Jess passes him on the way and smiles and waves, and Ben smiles back before he slips inside. He empties the pheromone diffuser in the toilet and flushes it. Safer to throw the vial away once he’s home. Someone might notice it in the garbage.

It’s exciting—it’s like a dream come true. Ben stops by the unit’s common area and grabs a banana and yogurt and makes a turkey sandwich, and his hands tremble while he cuts it in half. He’s met Omegas. Jess is an Omega. He’s never had his own; never thought he could. If the Theta takes hold on Rey… maybe he could.

Hard to know how to feel, but mostly, it’s like a dream come true.

He returns to Rey with her lunch and a bottle of water. She’s sitting on the edge of her bed staring at the floor and watches him with doleful red eyes.

“Feeling okay?” Ben asks. He sets the tray beside her on the bare mattress.

She nods but doesn’t speak. He moves back to let her eat but she doesn’t move for a handful of minutes. Blinks once, slow, slouched over like she’s carrying something heavy on her narrow shoulders.

Ben takes the tray and sits on the other side of her. His boots touch the floor where her bare feet dangle.

“Want me to cut it up?” he asks. Sometimes they like being babied a little. He hopes she does.

Rey gives him a slight nod, so he peels her banana first and cuts it into small slices. He offers her a piece on a fork and instead of taking the utensil, Rey leans on his shoulder and eats it off the prongs.

Ben can’t remember a day he’s ever been happier. Blood pounds in his ears when he offers her another piece and she eats it, and it carries on until the banana is gone. He peels open her strawberry yogurt and she opens her mouth expectantly, so he feeds her, bite by bite, with her head resting on his arm.

“I’m glad you’re eating.” He scrapes the bottom of the yogurt. “If there’s anything else you want just let me know.”

She keeps quiet. She won’t eat the sandwich on her own so Ben cuts it into smaller pieces and offers it between his fingertips. He could use the fork and he knows he should, but…

Rey opens her mouth and he feeds her and gets to feel her soft mouth on his fingers. She pulls a bit as his fingers slip free and he gets a rush of excitement. Shouldn’t be arousing feeding an exhausted, scared teenage Omega, but the way she opens her little mouth and sucks on his fingers is hard to play off.

It would be so nice to have her home in his bed. He could convert the closet for her, too—lying on the floor might fuck up his back but it’s worth it. Ben watches her slowly chewing the last bite of turkey sandwich, hazel eyes glazed over. She needs special attention. She needs him.

He offers her the water last. Rey drinks it by herself, guzzling half the bottle before handing it back to Ben. She rubs her eyes with both hands.

“Was that good?” he murmurs, and she nods. “Seems like you’re ready for a nap.”

Rey yawns and shakes her head and Ben laughs a little. She’s cute. She’s really cute. He wouldn’t mind waking up to her like this.

He digs his nails into his palms while she dozes off on his shoulder. She’s _fifteen_. What is he thinking? She’s a kid, and she’s scared out of her mind. If she trusts him he needs to be respectful and careful around her.

His gaze wanders down to her skinny thigh pressed alongside his. Fifteen. That’s old enough to be mated. It should be old enough for him, too.

Rey falls asleep. Ben gently arranges her on the bed with a pillow and covers her in a few blankets before he leaves. He lingers at the doorway, rubbing his thumb on the handle.

She needs him.


End file.
